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Designer Galliano goes on trial over anti-Semitic remarks

John Galliano testifies he was taking "a lethal mix" of sleeping pills

It was "'just an argument in a bar," one alleged victim says

Galliano says he can't recall making abusive comments

Galliano faces six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros if convicted

Paris (CNN) -- Flamboyant fashion designer John Galliano went on trial Wednesday, accused of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris cafe.

Galliano, who was fired by fashion giant Christian Dior in March after video surfaced showing him praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, testified Wednesday that drugs were to blame.

Judge Anne-Marie Sauteraud read out a list of the abuse Galliano is accused of hurling at Geraldine Bloch and Philippe Virgitti, including obscenities mixed with remarks about their ethnic backgrounds.

"He said 'dirty whore' at least a thousand times," the judge said.

Galliano said on the witness stand that he had no memory of making the comments.

Asked to explain his "lack of memory," he said: "I have an addiction. I am currently undergoing treatment."

Galliano's attorney said before the trial began the designer "was a sick person, who was suffering from addiction and this is something we are demonstrating through medical evidence, expert reports."

"We must not judge a man who for 30 years has been dedicated to diversity, who has been a loving person for all races, cultures and religions ... based on 40 minutes where he was sick through alcohol and medication," Aurelien Hamelle said.

Galliano testified that he suffered from an increasing workload and no time to mourn after the 2007 death of his alter ego at Dior, designer Steven Robinson.

"With his death, I found I had no protection," Galliano said.

His body became dependent on drugs, he said.

"I was taking sleeping pills during the day," he testified. "I've only just discovered since rehab what a lethal mix I was taking."

Bloch testified Wednesday that she encountered Galliano on a crowded cafe terrace, which led to an angry exchange.

"I don't remember his exact wording; there were different phrases," Bloch told the court. "It's true that I was angry. I insulted him, too."

Virgitti testified the confrontation, which he called "just an argument in a bar," began when Galliano sat down next to his party at the cafe.

"He started speaking to us very quickly after arriving," Virgitti said. "He told Geraldine to speak less as she was disturbing him. We didn't know what to do. The situation got worse. He started touching her hair, saying she had no hair. I told him, 'Don't touch her.' "

He acknowledged during his testimony that while Galliano "said things he shouldn't have," the incident "has been so overly played out in the media."

Galliano faces a six-month jail term and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,410) if he is convicted, according to prosecutors.

A verdict in the case did not come Wednesday.

Galliano will be judged in one trial over two separate incidents, one in October and one in February.

After the second incident, Galliano was taken to a police station where a test revealed he had a high level of alcohol in his blood, authorities said at the time. He was later released.

The video is from yet another incident. He is not being tried for the incident because the couple involved chose not to press charges.

French law prohibits the incitement of racial discrimination, hatred or violence based on a person's origin or their membership -- or nonmembership -- in an ethic, national, racial or religious group.

Galliano apologized after the video was released.

"I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people's understanding and compassion," Galliano said in a statement. "Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society."

Galliano has kept a low profile since his firing, but Vanessa Friedman, fashion editor of the Financial Times newspaper, said that given time, he could return to the industry.

His career is over in its present form, she said.

But he could return to Britain, where there is "residual love for him," lay low and make a comeback in a few years, she said.